Fan-favorite Torrez Finney makes history for disappointing record; reveals true feelings post fight

Torrez Finney defies boss Dana White, and farce scorings to bag UFC Vegas 105 debut win, despite uneventful bout.

Fan-favorite Torrez Finney makes history for disappointing record; reveals true feelings post fight

Torrez Finney’s UFC debut ends with split decision at UFC Vegas 105 (Source: X)

Undefeated middleweight Torrez Finney proved Dana White wrong again on Saturday night at UFC Apex, continuing his winning start to his tenure. Finney’s UFC debut win over Robert Valentin ended in a split decision at UFC Vegas 105 tonight. The fighter made history after landing the fewest significant strikes by any decision winner at 185 pounds.

Finney is on the smaller side of things for a middleweight at 5’8″. Even though he had two stoppage wins, Dana White battle-tested him again for DWCS. At UFC Vegas 105, Finney played a bit of a wrestle-heavy game with drawing critique even from commentator Michael Bisping. While he could not punctuate ground-and-pounds or mount-strikes, the undefeated fighter later weighed in on it.

No. The plan was to throw ground and pound, …Maybe I was in this fight. I was too much position over obviously striking. You know, usually you hear the position over submission. But I was too much position and not looking for openings… And there were sometimes openings that I had I didn’t take advantage of. And I don’t know what it was that was holding me back, a mental block, confidence. but man that was so much left to be desired and, therefore myself, um, I did not like I would say it was a weird performance…

Torrez Finney during UFC Vegas 105 post-fight fighter interviews

Torrez Finney had to go through Dana White’s Contender Series three times, with the UFC boss billing the competition would decimate him. That did not come to be as he edged out Valentin via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28). One judge even logged all three rounds against him despite ginormous control time stats! While he did overcome the facial judging and the bosses’ predictions, Finney said this was a dud.

However, the middleweight fighter will now find a permanent home in the roster. Whether he shines or the combat clique comes for his head, asking for better output, remains to be seen. Finney felt like a fighter even before tagging on to the UFC roster. He said to perform as such when the time comes again.

Torrez Finney shares why he felt like a UFC fighter before landing a contract with third DWCS win

When Torrez Finney stepped into the cage for his third Dana White’s Contender Series fight, he knew he wasn’t leaving UFC Apex without a contract. The undefeated star meant to prove he had what it took to make the cut into UFC competition and did exactly that.

Dana White's contender series alum Torrez Finney needs more work to be a 'fighter'
Dana White’s contender series alum Torrez Finney needs more work to be a ‘fighter’ (Source: X)

A DWCS contract basically is a 20-month, four-fight contractual deal. Already on his third proving ground, Finney said he felt part of the grind. With a record of 10-0 MMA at that point, he was brimming with confidence. ‘Punisher’ was fresh off his first-round TKO win over Abdellah Er-Ramy and said he already felt like a UFC fighter.

I’m going to be honest with you, along with my teammate Trevor Peek, being able to go through a lot of these experiences with him – I’m going to be honest with you, I feel like I was already UFC…

Torrez Finney during a post-fight news conference

The middleweight star was an interesting, and even hot on the mic. Per FanDuel Sportsbooks, he was also a -280 fave to prop to win at UFC Vegas 105. While Finney has done that, it was an uneventful bout. Many fans brashly demanded for him to be cut.

Controversial YouTuber MMA Guru billed he had never seen anyone avoid a 15-minute scrap like this before. Finney did initiate wrestling actions all across, but Mike Beltran removed him due to lack of action. While it’s clear his stock needs some more work, it remains to be seen where he goes from here.

Related: (Video) Referee mishap sees Dana White’s Contender Series star deliver thunderous strike to downed opponent